On City Hall’s steps, District 9 Councilman John Courage held a press conference alongside partners Undue Medical Debt CEO Allison Sesso and San Antonio Metro Health District Director Dr. Claude A. Jacob to introduce the Medical Debt Relief Program for San Antonio. On April 16, Courage communicated to the press that with the help of Undue Medical Debt — a national nonprofit 501(C)(3) — they are partnering to eliminate medical debt for 45,000 debtors in San Antonio. Courage and his staff have been evaluating the feasibility of this program for over a year and have decided to work with Undo Medical Debt.
Courage brought up the story of Miguel Casado and how his situation is a common occurrence that many can relate to when undergoing this financial burden.
“The city was planning to demolish the home of Miguel Casado and charge the Casados $10,000 to demolish it due to its unsafe condition. With little resources at hand, their once beautiful house had deteriorated and was on the brink of being uninhabitable,” Courage said. “But the community came to the rescue and saved Miguel’s home. Their health bills had put their lives and homes at risk, but the community stepped up to help.
“That is emblematic of why we are here today. There are thousands of Miguel Casadas in San Antonio. Our friends and neighbors struggle to maintain and retain their homes and families while facing huge medical debts,” Courage said regarding this debt relief program’s ability to help avoid such problems.
Undue Medical Debt has partnered with numerous state governments to mitigate this problem. Their partnership with San Antonio is the first time Undue Medical Debt has worked with the Texas government. Sesso commented on behalf of the company while expressing her concerns about San Antonians’ medical debt.
“So many people are burdened by the way that our healthcare system is not working for them. Healthcare is increasingly unaffordable to people. There really is a misalignment between what we expect people to pay out of pocket and what they actually have,” Sesso said. “As an organization, we are dedicated to helping people today while also pushing for a future where our work is no longer needed.”
UMD has been around for nearly eleven years and has abolished over $15 billion of medical debt. Within that time frame, they have helped ten million people relieve their financial burdens. While partnering with Courage, UMD plans to eliminate $60 million of San Antonio medical debt.
“How our model works is we go to either the secondary market or to a hospital or other health care provider, and we buy debt like a for profit debt buyer, except we use either government or donated dollars, and we’re able to buy all this debt for pennies on the dollar. And that’s why a relatively small investment gets you a big return,” explained Sesso regarding the company’s process on clearing debt.
Jacob explained that this effort removes stress from many individuals’ lives and allows them to seek healthcare again.
“People struggling with medical debt often delay or completely avoid seeking necessary care, including life saving prescriptions,” explained Jacob.
“Just know that through the experience of the pandemic, we looked at conditions that worsened here across the city, and we looked at improving access to care as one of our priority areas. Just know that the reality is that when someone faces medical debt, they often have to cut back on other essential needs, things like food, clothing and even housing.”
Statistically, in Bexar County, one in five residents carry medical debt, and communities of color oftentimes struggle with this financial stress more severely. Hispanic, African American and Indigenous American communities, such as these, are twice as likely to face medical debt compared to other populations across the city.
In closing, Courage spoke about the program’s future and what will be accomplished.
“I believe this is one of the most significant and impactful programs I’ve initiated. What has been presented to you today by Undue Medical Debt, as you’ve heard, will have a positive impact on the lives of 45,000 San Antonio residents. We believe it will have a phenomenal effect on their lives,” said Courage, concluding the press conference.
This program will be an ongoing effort to assist residents of San Antonio that courage hopes will continue under the new city council.
